#!/usr/bin/perl
my $test = "hello there ass\x08\x08wesome";

print "BEFORE: $test, ", "(length: " . length($test) . ")\n";

while ($test =~ /\x08/) {
  $test =~ s/.\x08//;
}

print "AFTER:  $test, ", "(length: " . length($test) . ")\n";

##</code><code>##

BEFORE: hello there awesome, (length: 23)
AFTER:  hello there awesome, (length: 19)